45 Comments

HI
Olivia, i find it difficult to open the video which were sent to me this morning.
could you please, give me a link so that i can have access to it

Olivia Mitchell
on December 31, 2017 at 3:13 pm

I’ve sent you an email, Naab. Hope that helps.

Olivia Mitchell
on December 30, 2017 at 10:29 am

Thank you Roja, what helps me can help others.

Julie Osborn
on December 30, 2017 at 7:40 pm

Hi Olivia
Thank you for your positive response amidst your pain. I pray that you have a full recovery and no complications. Although a Pastor who gives out to many, I appreciate your down to earth approach and helpful comments. God bless you xxoo

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Olivia. Having heard you mention horses before, I saw the video still and thought “Oh no! You’ve had a riding accident!”

Well done for having the courage to breach the pain barrier, and to post this clip, and to contact your French aunt. (I wonder if a transcription app like Dragon NaturallySpeaking would help you get back into other writing?)

I can identify with what you said about pain stopping you getting up. Over the years, I’ve had 2 melanomas removed from my right calf. With the 1st, many years ago, I remember collapsing when I got out of the hospital bed because of the sudden intense pain of standing.

By the way, if anyone here would like to play the video at a different speed (perhaps because English isn’t your 1st language, or you’d like to speed it up to save time), you can do that with this quick tip.

Hi Olivia,firstly, speedy recovery to you.
Secondly, apart from your wise words, I’m so impressed by your spontaneity and ease expressed through your video blog. You really manage to convey such enthusiasm and passion… even lying flat out after such an accident! Thanks. Wishing you all th very best for a courageuous 2018 and looking forward to hearing more.
All the best

Thank you Ann. In particular I really appreciate your words about how I came across. I really didn’t know how it was going to work! But the reason it did is not because of some inborn talent, it’s because of practice over many years. I strongly believe that anyone can develop this skill.

Sharon
on December 30, 2017 at 6:29 am

Hi Olivia!
Excellent video – thank you for posting this. Love the word of the year!!
Best to you in your recovery and 2018!
5-4-3-2-1 Go!

Hi Olivia
Thank you for such an inspirational video! To be honest I have not been courageous to start doing what I am supposed to complete. Your message has inspired me to get started. Thank you again for the impactful video. Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery and a happy 2018 as people like you deserve the best!

I love that Hayati, yay! If I could jump up and down for you I would ;-).

Martyn Wardle
on December 31, 2017 at 7:11 am

I see you have joined the club of “Fallin off a horse and discovering I don’t bounce like I used to” and how apt that your word of the year is courage. They say that “when you fall off a horse you should get straight back on again” which of course bears no relationship to reality by pointedly ignoring the fact that one has to be conscious to do so! I suspect that another “courageous “ moment will open up for you when you next place your hand on the saddle prior to mounting. Many, many years ago I took riding lessons. This took place when I was in my 30’s and I was surrounded by about a dozen or so “pony club girls” so between the ages of 6 – maybe 12 years of age. In this particular lesson we were to learn the basics of jumping, which meant a jumping pole was laid on the ground and we were to trot round and the pony was to step over it. Simple isn’t it? Unfortunately I was far more interested in the abundant charms of a lady who was leading two ponies up the field towards us, one in each hand, with her “abundance” heaving dramatically shall we say. With eyes and mind firmly fixed on this I neglected to either listen to the instructions nor watch what was going on, so as my pony “stepped” over the pole, a number of things occurred, or so it seemed to me. Firstly the entire planet dropped some two feet, gravity, caught unawares, realized it’s mistake and pulled extra hard. Secondly, I accelerated downwards back into a leather saddle which had mysteriously turned to concrete during the short moments was away. Thirdly, areas not best included in the process of sitting, from the male perspective anyway, softened the impact. I say softened but this is relative, and judging by the excruciating pain felt it seemed that any kind of relations were henceforth to be imaginary only. My reaction to this attempt to achieve bragging rights to “pain experienced during childbirth” in both intensity and location, was to hurl myself off the startled beast grasping the affects parts and screaming at a pitch that only dolphins could have heard, to the surprise of the immature audience. Once on the ground, despite the pain, I thought that at least here I would be safe, which just goes to prove how wrong you can be. Unknown to me I had landed next to the water trough and little did I realize that the instructress’s first aid training was heavily influenced by images shown of soccer players receiving “the magic sponge” of the coach when a wayward ball struck its organic counterparts. The absence of any sponge was of no matter to her and unbuckling my belt with one hand and scooping up water with the other, she plunged the the lot inside my crutch area and began what she apparently thought was a restorative massage. In my befuddled state I was scarce aware of whether it was night or day, when suddenly the “family jewels” were douched with water which seemed to be at a temperature that had the Titanic gone down in it they would simply have walked to safety on the ice. On top of this was a woman of prodigious strength exercising her muscles on an area and between layers of clothing that had hithertoo only been accessible with prior consent between the parties. On top of this I was now surrounded by a giggling immature audience of “pony girls” looking on with wide eyed excitement, as I realized some minutes later. I spent the remainder of the lesson leaning, open legged, against a tree holding onto a pony who peacefully cropped grass. I therefore submit this as an example of “feeling your pain”. I wish you a speedy recovery and a Happy New Year!

Catching up from the holiday and seeing this news for the first time. I applaud your courage, Olivia, and wish you a rapid recovery!

Your approach to just “count down” and do it reminds me of when I went skydiving for the first (and last) time. It was something I’d always wanted to do, but as we waited in the hangar and then ascended in the tiny plane, my fear started taking hold. As we prepared to jump, the instructor (it was a tandem dive, with an expert strapped to your back) said we were just going to kneel together at the open door and count “1, 2, 3” as we rock forward and back. And then on three we just lean forward and we’re in the air.

And really that was all there was to it. Not looking at the ground or thinking of the consequences, but just counting down and making the leap and trusting that the rest would take care of itself.

You don’t know me personally but Florence, who has been a much loved and trusted friend and translator colleague of mine for the past 25 years, has sent me the link to your video blog. Firstly, let me wish you a full and speedy recovery! I am convinced you will achieve this because, having listened to your message, you strike me as a person with a highly positive outlook on life, and this is an essential factor for the body to heal itself. Courage as your ‘word for the year’ comes so genuinely and convincingly from you. Your message has given me the impetus to reflect on my own wishes for the year ahead. My main challenges are running a (small) business without neglecting my private sphere, and I have to make more of a conscious effort to get the balance right. So I am taking strength from your message, not just for courage itself but to ’translate’ it more consistently into everything I do.
Get well soon and have a great 2018!

I’m blown away by both your words and indeed your courage. I run a revolutionary presentation skills company in the UK and I’d love to collaborate with you at some time. Whilst I can’t claim to have broken my vertebrae riding a horse (I grew up in quite a poor family) I’ve certainly broken new ground in my field. Hope to work with you one day – chin up!

Dear Olivia,
Ive been a fan of your writing for years. I missed you during your hiatus and I am glad you are back. I am an speaking coach in the us of a (dear god the politics!) and appreciate your insights and intelligence. And courage.
Thank you